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“Basically, they are all joined to create the entire piece. We outputted our drawings into the CNC (computer numerical controlled) machines that routed our ply for us. In a sense, our 3-D drawings automatically fabricated the performative sculpture. It was routed in the workshop and assembled on site.”
The bar display is lit through LEDs. “We needed something that would be thin enough to sit in the grooves we created, and at the same time would do justice to the design of the space – so LEDs were perfect.
You don’t see them, as they’re kind of hidden within,” points out Padora. The under-lit walnut wood serving counter has a stainless steel working counter, while the bar stools (sans backrests, so you can sit the other way too) are in plywood and metal.
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On both levels, the plaster on the walls was deliberately stripped off so as to expose the red brick underneath and contrast the same with the slickness of the installation. Exposed metal ducts underline the disparity. Paper and soluble ink were used to give the ceiling the requisite acoustic treatment, while the flooring is cast-in-place concrete that looks appropriately minimal. “The idea was that nothing should visually contest with the top of the bar,” says Padora.
As it’s in solid plywood, just one section of the display weighs about 80kgs – so it needed support. As the clients specified that if somebody wants to hang off the blob, they should be able to do so without damaging anything, the designers created a jungle of metal supports to monkey-proof it. “The crisscrossing network of high-tension steel rods makes it very dense in the middle – in contrast to the fluidity, the smooth contiguous sensuousness of the bar display form,” Padora points out. “We could have supported it with verticals, but it would have swayed.”
At the far end on the lower level is the DJ booth, marked by the only painted red wall – which shields the service staircase from view. Adjoining it is a wooden dance floor. The furniture is custom-designed, mostly in plywood. Little niches were created by caging the existing windows in galvanised iron, so they become convenient chill-out zones.
The main challenge for the team was the blob art. “When we did the design build, we co-ordinated the entire installation piece – from drawing it in 3-D, cutting it up, putting it on to a ply surface so that there was no wastage, sending that drawing to the laser cutter, making sure he cut it properly, and getting the carpenters to align all the holes together. So, for all practical purposes, we actually built the installation,” exclaims the designer.
There are reference holes for each piece, and in all there were 3000 to 4000 pieces to be glue-laminated together. The blob was designed in such a way that parts of it were flat enough for the bottles to stand. “We had to cut the outer form in a curve and the inner part straight,” elucidates Padora, who believes that design should have a purpose. “Just aesthetics is not enough reason to do something, there has to be a programme to support your need for an aesthetic like that – which is why I think art must perform some function.”
The backdrop of the bar on the fine dine level is a CNC-milled plywood bar display, which doubles up as a partition separating the two levels. Besides the original iron girders and the ducting, the ceiling has light fixtures and a projector stand. Here again, the acoustics are controlled through a sprayed-on paper-based acoustic layer on the ceiling. The tables are made of sectioned plywood with a mild steel base, while the lighting on this level is a combination of warm halogen up-lighters on the walls and down-lighters on the ceiling.
After stripping off the original plaster on the brick wall and sanding down the uneven brick, an epoxy filler and coat was applied to plug the gaps and prevent flaking of the bricks – taking care of the clients’ exhortation that the place should not look dirty. Yet, there are guests who ask Schabracq when the walls will be plastered and painted! “They don’t believe that the wall was already plastered and painted, but we wanted these bricks to show,” he laughs.
Design plays a key role in attracting guests. “Where you go out says a lot about you. Zenzi Mills is chic but not kitsch, it’s luxury but not nouveau riche,” says a satisfied Schabracq. “We don’t have a door policy, but the design makes people feel good or not. Our guests have a been-there-done-that attitude and they appreciate our no-nonsense concept.”
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